Thank you for the day in-between;
Safely tucked in the middle of
Death and Life.

At the start
a torturous journey,
an uphill climb,
stumbling, staggering, sweating
under the weight of the wood.
Muscles tired, strength exhausted,
body beaten, bruised and bleeding,
stretched out on display,
for mockers, curiosity seekers and saints.
A final breath, an impassioned cry
and it was finished.
On the other side of this Dark Day
a light awaits the dawn.
But, not yet…

This is the Day In-Between.
Today His body is still silent.
Drops of sweat and blood have
cooled and come to rest.
Dark, Cold and Damp
is the bed on which his limbs
grow stiff.
Quiet, lonely, without the intrusions
of daily routine or plans for the future.
He does not move.

And I am thankful for this
Day In-Between–a chance to wait, to meditate,
to embrace the silence and the sorrow,
the call and the cost.
My very life, my only hope
is there in the Dark with Him;
I am surrounded by the Holy Silence of Death,
almost afraid to move,
to disturb the calm;
afraid that the noise of my anxious, shifting feet
might drown out the sounds of hope:
— a breath, a heartbeat, the crackle
of stiffness softening.

In the Day In-Between
I ponder
I meditate
I wait
I remember
and I begin to Hope.